US stock market plunges due to concerns about new virus variants

Anadolu Agency Major indices in the US stock market plunged Friday, closing with huge losses in a half-day session after Thanksgiving Day as a new strain of the coronavirus has worried investors.

The blue-chip Dow plunged 905 points, or 2.53%, to 34,899. IBM and Walt Disney fell to their lowest level in a year.

The S&P 500 fell 106 points, or 2.27%, to 4,594 as Tesla shares fell 3%.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 353 points, or 2.23%, to 15,491, with GameStop and Uber losing 5.3% and 3.7%, respectively.

The sharp drop came amid concerns that the novel coronavirus strain known in South Africa as B.1.1.529 could lead to quarantine measures, business closures and halt economic recovery around the world once again.

Due to heightened risks, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, rose 54% to 28.62.

The dollar index fell 0.74% to 96.06, while 10-year US Treasury yields fell 9.8% to 1.483%.

With the potential risk of lower global demand for oil from the new variant, oil prices posted their biggest daily decline for 2021 with a loss of 12%. The price of Brent oil fell 11.5% to $72.75 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate crude oil benchmark lost 13% to $68.17.

Precious metals fell, with gold losing 0.04% to $1,788 an ounce, and silver falling 2% to $23.11 an ounce.